A fish oil diet retards experimental amyloidosis, modulates lymphocyte function, and decreases macrophage arachidonate metabolism in mice.

Several recent reports have shown that diets in which the only source of fat was fish oil can modify the course of diseases with an inflammatory or immune component. In these experiments we examined the effect of a fish oil diet on experimental amyloidosis in mice. In most azocasein-treated mice, amyloid deposits were found in the spleen, varying from a trace to wide and contiguous perifollicular bands. The spleens of mice receiving fish oil had significantly less amyloid than did spleens of mice fed corn oil. A marked increase in spontaneous blastogenesis that occurred in azocasein-treated mice on corn oil was suppressed in azocasein-treated mice on fish oil. Substitution of the unsaturated fatty acids of corn oil with those of fish oil was also found to modify the prostaglandin profile of macrophages. This altered profile may change cellular immune function and/or enhance the processing of serum amyloid A to retard the induction of secondary amyloidosis in mice.